Treasure hunting

We all know that engaging in evangelism is difficult and often it may seem unrewarding. Perhaps we have tried repeatedly to engage with people and they have shown no interest in what we have to say (although that is not to say that they have not heard and understood what we said). One thing I do know is that a reason why I am writing this is because some individuals persevered in evangelising me whenever they had the opportunity. If they had responded to my apparent lack of interest by assuming they were not getting through to me, they would have made a big mistake. So they persevered, and from heaven now they can see the outcome of their efforts.

Evangelism is a bit like treasure hunting. I read an article the other day about a treasure hunter who found ancient coins in a field. He did not know beforehand that the coins were there, so his hunting was not based on having prior information about what was in the field. Instead, he engaged in the search because he loved the prospect of finding hidden treasures and was willing to make an effort to find it.

As Christians, we know that somewhere out there in the dark world there is treasure waiting to be found by each of us. This treasure is not buried out of sight. Instead it may be walking before our eyes, living in our streets, working in our places of employment, sitting in our favourite cafes, sharing our interests and hobbies, travelling with us on the bus. It could be anywhere and everywhere. The problem is that we cannot tell if what we see is going to turn out to be treasure.

The man who found the coins did so by using a special scanner. It could penetrate where his eyes could not. We have a scanner that will reveal whether or not we have found treasure and that scanner is the gospel. It is amazing how the gospel can get inside a person and disturb them into reality without us knowing that it is happening. Sooner or later, the gospel will reveal whether or not we have found treasure.

When the man found the coins I don’t think it was his first attempt in that field. Instead, he had made repeated efforts because he knew that if he found it he would be pleased. I think he also liked handling the scanner, so even if he did not find treasure he still enjoyed the search. If some had spoken to him as he walked along the field searching, they would have sensed he was a happy man.

In evangelism, it is not only the results that should bring joy to us. Telling the story of Jesus in itself should fill us with joy because when speaking to others about him we are reminding ourselves about what he has done for us. Speaking about the possibility of forgiveness as we share the gospel reminds us that we have been forgiven. Explaining about the prospect of heaven as we share the gospel reminds us that we are going there. These are forms of spiritual treasure also. So while we may not find hidden treasure all the time, we can receive rich, personal benefits from speaking about Jesus whenever we do so.

Telling others about Jesus always requires an intense satisfaction with Jesus. Telling others about Jesus inevitably brings increasing satisfaction with Jesus. Telling others about Jesus eventually results in lost people discovering that Jesus satisfies, which brings further satisfaction to those who told them. Surely, all that is great treasure to have and to find, and to have and to find repeatedly. Lord, make us rich with this kind of treasure!

Six Principles of Mission (Acts 16)

In Luke’s description of the founding of the church in Philippi we can see several important principles for guiding the Christian church today as it engages in local mission.

The first is that the workers were partners together in the task of spreading the gospel. Paul did not function by himself, instead he surrounded himself with people. There are many reasons for this: prayer, training of Timothy, authenticity from the Jerusalem church (Silas was delivering the decree of the Jerusalem council concerning the ceremonial law), local knowledge of Luke (it can be argued that Luke came from Philippi; he seems to have remained there once the others left the city, v. 40).

The second is patient waiting on God for his direction. It is obvious that the Lord did not reveal details of his will until the appropriate time had come. He did not allow them to go to certain geographical areas (we don’t know how the knowledge was given, but it is evident that they were looking for guidance) and then he gave specific guidance to go to Macedonia.

A third principle of Paul’s mission strategy was to go to a population centre, which is why he went to Philippi, a chief city of Macedonia. Once they established a church in a population centre, it could evangelise the surrounding area and Paul and his team would move on to the next place.

Paul had a fourth principle, which was to communicate first with those who had some knowledge of the true God. In the ancient world, this was the Jews and the Gentiles who had identified with the worship of the God of the Israelites. Paul did not target the leaders or influential people of the city first, although sometimes they would be reached later. His approach in this method was common sense. When the local synagogue finally ejected him, usually by that time he had gathered a nucleus of a congregation.

A fifth principle that marked Paul and his team was their assumption that God had his people in that place who were about to be converted. They did not know who these converts would be, but they did expect the gospel to have fruit. Paul therefore was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, either in its content or in its effects, because he knew it was the power of God unto salvation.

A sixth principle that governed their approach to evangelism was to convert households. In those days a household often would number more than parents and children; it could include sons and their wives, grandchildren, as well as servants and slaves. Connecting a household to a congregation might result in twenty or more people adhering to the church. Two households are mentioned in connection to the church in Philippi: the household of Lydia and the household of the jailor.

Statistically possible

I am reading a book of sermons preached by Rev. David Neilson who was a Free Church minister in Renfrew, Scotland, in the nineteenth century. In one of them, he makes the following statistical suggestion:

‘If all true Christians were making a prayerful and believing effort, it has been calculated that the “glorious Gospel” might be carried to every human being, and every one be converted, in seven years. It is reckoned that there are about twelve hundred and eighty millions of people on the globe, and that of these there are about ten millions of living Christians. Suppose that each one of those ten millions of living Christians converted a single person during the first year, that would give twenty millions; let the twenty millions do the same during the second year, that would give forty millions. Let this proceed on the same principle: the third year would give eighty millions, the fourth year one hundred and sixty millions, the fifth year three hundred and twenty millions, the sixth year six hundred and forty millions, and the seventh year twelve hundred and eighty millions.’

He continued: ‘The Gospel is a personal message from God to every man, and the advantage of this way is that it would be conveyed as a personal message to every one, while the ministrations of the Church of Christ were maintained as heretofore for uniting, nourishing and strengthening the brethren. We cannot call a Synod of the ten millions of earnest Christians in order to adopt this plan, but each one in his own sphere can do his part under God, and work for a consummation so devoutly to be desired.’

We can see that he was a man with the need of the world in his heart, that he was informed about the places that needed to hear the gospel, and that he was aware of a fairly simple method to deal with it. Neilson was fully aware that it was not in the power of any Christian to give spiritual life to another person. But he was also aware that God can bless the simple act of telling someone else about Jesus.

The figures have changed dramatically since Neilson’s time and will continue to increase. Yet I think the percentages are the same, which indicates the same solution is suitable for today as it was in his time. His comments suggest that each true Christian was not witnessing, and perhaps it is the same still.